Damian Lillard Says He Met with Lakers' LeBron James, Anthony Davis amid Trade Rumors

Damian Lillard met with Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the offseason as he contemplated his future with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Blazers playmaker recounted to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes how James invited him to lunch at his home in Brentwood, a suburb of Los Angeles. Davis was also there when Lillard arrived:

"'Bron asked what I was thinking with my situation, and I told him what I’m telling you: that I just want to be in a position to win it all,” Lillard told Yahoo Sports. “He painted the picture to me that if I were to leave, the situation could look like this. He didn’t tell me to come to L.A., and he didn’t say anything to me that I didn’t already know other than what it could look like. I told him, ‘I know if I were to play with y’all, I know it would work out because of my skill set,’ and who I am and who they are."

Lillard obviously chose to remain in Portland. He told The Athletic's Jason Quick the hiring of Chauncey Billups as head coach and his subsequent conversations with Billups help ease his mind about the Blazers' general direction.

The Lakers, meanwhile, shifted course and ultimately acquired Russell Westbrook.

While team officials are prohibited from making any overtures to a player signed to another team without permission, players are largely immune from the NBA's tampering rules.

For James, approaching Lillard for a private chat was a no-brainer because the six-time All-Star fit the profile for a marquee name who might want an exit from his current team.

At the time of the meeting, Lillard had been with the Blazers for nine seasons. During that span, Portland went to the postseason on eight occasions but reached the Western Conference Finals just once. In 2020-21 the franchise suffered its fourth first-round exit in five years.

The Blazers had hit their ceiling under former coach Terry Stotts, and it was difficult to envision them having the assets to drastically raise their ceiling through a trade. If Lillard's primary focus is winning a championship, then staying in Portland may not give him the best chance of making that happen.

Joining up with James and Davis would've made the Lakers pretty formidable and arguably the favorites to win the West.

Perhaps Lillard will reach a point where he wants to leave Portland and makes his intentions known. But given James' age (36) and Westbrook's $47.1 million player option for 2022-23, this past summer may have been Los Angeles' last best chance to make a deal happen.